Month: August 2025

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — I found this great documentary linked over at my buddy Commander Zero’s Notes From The Bunker blog: Exploring the Paranoid Country with 374,142 Bunkers to Hide Everyone (how is this possible?)  Pictured above is a fortified Swiss artillery emplacement, camouflaged to look like a house. o  o  o Reader C.B. sent this …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I simply cannot stand by and watch a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States come under attack from those who either can’t understand it, don’t like the sound of it, or find themselves too philosophically squeamish to see why it remains the first among equals: Because it is the right we turn to when all else fails. That’s why the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom.” – Charlton Heston


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 5, 2025

August 5, 1716: Battle of Petrovaradin [aka Peterwardein]: The Habsburgs under Eugene of Savoy defeated the Ottomans in a decisive victory. — On this day in 1763: Battle of Bushy Run, Pontiac’s War. Forces led by Swiss mercenary Henry Bouquet defeated Chief Pontiac’s Indians at Bushy Run. — August 5, 1917: The entire US National Guard is taken into national service, subject to presidential rather than state control. — August 5th is also the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 119

We’ve announced the winners of Round 119 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Note to the top three prize winners: Please contact me and let me know your UPS and USPS address(es), for your prizes. Thanks. – JWR The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 119 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to A.F. for Preps Starter Kits for Reluctant Families. See: Part 1 and Part 2. It was posted July 8-9, 2025. He will receive as prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for …


Commonality Across Your Preps, by A.C.

Let’s face it, the world we live in is defined by the staggering variety of choices we have. A that is why the simple concept of standardization (the deliberate choice to use common platforms and equipment) might seem like a limitation. However, as large government organizations and individual preppers alike have learned a strategic commitment to commonality offers immeasurable benefits in efficiency, cost, and safety. By examining the lessons from military programs I have been personally involved with and applying them to our own lives, we can see how thinking about standardization is a powerful way to enhance our readiness, …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, news about the manhunt for an Anaconda, Montana quadruple murder suspect. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Throwing Away The Key: Bryan Kohberger transferred to long-term isolation in ‘restrictive housing block’. o  o  o Sun Valley Tour de Force survivors heal and inspire. “What started as a …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 4, 2025

On August 4, 1735, a jury acquitted John Zenger of the New York Weekly Journal. (A sample issue from the previous year is pictured.) He had been charged with seditious libel by the royal governor of New York. This was a key victory and legal precedent for freedom of press. — August 4, 1900:  An allied expeditionary force, made up of Japanese, Russian, British, French, and American troops, set off from Tientsin for Peking, China, to put down the Boxer rebellion. — And on August 4, 1961 Spokane, Washington reached an August record high temperature of 108° F. — Today’s …


Jase Medical Antibiotic Kit, by Thomas Christianson

Editor’s Introductory Note:  In January 2025, about a month after Tom sent in this article, Jase became a SurvivalBlog advertiser.  We do our best to keep advertising and editorial as separate spheres. – JWR Author’s Note: I am not a medical professional. The information included in this article is not intended as medical advice. It is just an account of my own personal experiences. Please seek competent medical advice as you formulate your own emergency medical plans. A number of years ago, the area where I was living was swept by a Category 5 blizzard. All of the roads in …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Crockpot Slow Cooker Rice Pudding is from SurvivalBlog reader P.K.. Ingredients 1 can of Evaporated Milk. (Note: Use evaporated milk and not “sweetened condensed milk”. They are not the same!) Vanilla Extract (enough to suit your taste.) Raisins (optional, up to a large handful) Long Grain White Rice – First, cook the rice according to package directions before adding it to the slow cooker. Measure 3 cups of cooked rice. Brown Sugar and Cinnamon– to sprinkle on top. Directions Mix the first four ingredients to a large crock pot slow cooker. Cook on your crockpot’s high …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic:  Map of the Largest Metropolitan Areas in the United States. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.)  Note that only one of them touches the edge of the American Redoubt region. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.         — Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 3, 2025

August 3, 1798: The Battle of the Nile. British Admiral Horatio Nelson forced the remnants of the French fleet to surrender, concluding a decisive victory for the British who captured or destroyed 11 French ships of the line and two frigates. — On August 3rd  1914, Germany and France both declared war on each other, bringing two major combatants into the First World War. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 120 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be …


Herbal Medicine Basics, by Watchman H.A.

To start off, I will give a little bit of information about myself. I am in my early twenties and currently studying at a ministerial college/ seminary near a larger U.S. city. I am located in a small rural community, that is a little too close to Washington, DC for my comfort, but I am not able to relocate at this time. I have been a long-term SurvivalBlog reader, but this is the first time that I have been able to write an article for the blog. I am by no means an expert, but I do know how to …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:  

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans But Greta Thunberg Has Plus-Size Greta Jeans With Room For An Extra Chromosome Video Link: Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans – Outrage AI Parody Song. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.